A regular newsletter about the life of Jim and Amy Rennie, for family and friends everywhere!

Monday, April 09, 2007

Well, it was a long day today, and full of worry, but as always, full of joy as well. We know that every single day with our son is a day of beauty and a miracle of God. We are so lucky to have such an amazing child, and we love him with all our hearts. It is difficult for us to watch him struggle, but we are determined to fight with him for his life, as long as he still has a fight in him . . .which we hope will be for a very, very long time. The whole family wishes they could take his place, but unfortunately, we can't. It is harrowing, but we are trying to give him to God and allow Him to be in control and heal Sawyer, day by day.

Sawyer is stable. He is not out of the woods yet, not by far. He is a very sick little boy--as the doctors say, he is still critically ill. However, they also keep telling us he is holding his own and fighting hard.

The goal now is to get him to remain stable, keep urinating, and get rid of all the fluid his body has retained. We already think he looks far less swollen, so that is a good thing. If they can get rid of that fluid, they will be able to put in his permanent line for medications and fluids. It's a critical time, because they need to get that put in!!! So please pray that he continues to get rid of the fluid in his body. They can also do surgery on him if they need to for his intestines.

Also, continue to pray for his perforated intestines. They do not know, and will not know for some time, the extent of the damage. However, the nurse practitioner told us tonight that he is not showing a high level of acid in his blood, which is one way they can tell there is a lot of damage--so again, this is a good sign.

It is scary, because the doctors often seem grim and offer very little hope. But we have faced those same conversations almost daily for 11 days now! I can't count how many times we have been prepared that he might not make it through the day. This shows us what a strong fighter our boy is. Everyone involved in his care has said how much he has surprised everyone. Keep praying that he will continue to surprise them and pull through this.

Also, every time Sawyer faces one of these trials, his brain could be affected. They do not know one way or the other. Only time will tell. Please pray that his brain will continue to develop normally and will not suffer for this trauma.

Oh--this evening he managed to extubate himself! He got his oxygen tube out--very, very scary sounding to mom and dad, but actually the nurses said he was fine and it wasn't a big deal. They managed to get some very handsome pictures of him after they re-intubated him, so we will scan them and blog them tomorrow.

Pray for Jim, because he has to keep working so that we will have money for Sawyer when he comes home. It is very hard on him, because he wants so badly to be with Sawyer, and it is awful to have to be at work instead. Then, by the time he gets home, he is exhausted and has to fight it to go be with Sawyer. Pray for me, also, because I have to face the doctors every morning without Jim, and hear the news myself. Thankfully, my mom is able to be with me if Jim is not, but it is still hard that he can't be there too.

Finally, a final prayer request is for the Monti family. A friend of mine from high school, Jennifer Monti, passed away this afternoon. She has been fighting for her life for many weeks in the same hospital where Sawyer is. She had gone in for a lung surgery, but her body suffered setback after setback, and finally she lost her earthly battle. Praise God her spiritual battle was won and she will never feel pain again. Please pray for her family--her parents, Mike and Sharon Whisenand, her brother Anthony, and her husband, Jon Monti. They need a lot of lifting up. Jennifer was only 32 years old.

2 comments:

Amy, Jim, Sawyer and family - We are all thinking about you. Everyday we are anxious to read how he is doing. Many parents have asked about all of you!! Just remember that we are all praying for you guys!!

About Me

Jim, originally from Taunton, U.K. and Amy, from Tremont, IL were married on April 7th 2006 and are currently living happily together in Tremont with Maddie the beagle and Sammy the cat. They have two sons who were born prematurely and passed away, Brian William and Sawyer James. In April, their first daughter, Amelie Jane, arrived safely thanks to Dr. Haney and the TAC!